The Chase
by Chelle Storey-Daniel
Summary: Callie is not content with watching Erica walk away from her in the parking lot of the hospital. She gives chase and hilarity ensues.


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"There is no gray area here. You can't kind of think this is okay. You can't kind of side with Izzie Stevens. And you can't kind of ... be ... a lesbian."

Callie froze for a split second, then licked her lips in an effort to calm down before she spoke. Anger, fear, and uncertainty rolled through her as she struggled for words. Finally, she found them. "Yes, I can."

Doubt was present in her voice. They both heard it.

Erica's eyes rolled heavenward as she scoffed. "I can't believe I didn't know this."

"Erica, the chief is right and -"

"NO. You! I don't know you. At all," Erica said, cutting across her.

Erica Hahn and Callie Torres had arrived in front of the very bench where they began their relationship and it was there that it appeared to be ending. With her mouth agape, Callie watched the blond turn on her heel and stalk away, the determined footfalls shattering in her ears with finality. No words came. Despite the fact that Callie could picture herself calling after the other woman, she was silent. She didn't move or utter a sound until Erica disappeared from her view.

"Wait," Callie finally whispered, caught between sinking where she stood or running towards what she wanted. The sound of her own voice was enough to break the spell and she lurched forward, stumbling before she broke into a run.

She rounded the corner in time to see the taillights on Erica's car receding in the distance. "Damn it!"

Racing to her own car, Callie dug into the pocket of her tight jeans (which she had bought especially for Erica's benefit), bouncing up and down in an effort to retrieve her keys. After a mighty tug of war, she finally yanked them free and climbed into her vehicle. She spun tires exiting the parking lot and cut someone off which earned a blaring horn, but she ignored it and accelerated. Ahead of her, Erica turned away from the road that would have taken her home and Callie punched the steering wheel when someone cut her off and she had to slam her brakes.

It took fancy maneuvering on her part, but Callie was able to pass the slow poke and caught up with Erica at an intersection. She pressed the horn and swore fluently when she saw Erica's middle finger silhouetted perfectly in the headlights. "Oh no you did NOT!" she growled, holding her hand on the horn until the light turned green and Erica squealed away.

Callie's cell phone rang a moment later and she recognized the tone. Erica had purchased it when she discovered Callie's taste in music. Wrenching it from her purse, she snapped, "Pull over!"

"Get off my ass!" Erica shouted. "Stalking? It's illegal, you know!?"

"I do not fail! And I do not quit, Erica Hahn!"

"You don't quit!? You don't *quit*!?" Erica snapped. "You quit before we even started anything! I've had *half* of you and Mark Sloan's had the other half the *entire* time. That is *epic* fail."

"Epic fail!? What? Are you thirteen? Did you get that off your MySpace?"

"Screw you, Torres!"

Callie gasped when the line went dead. She tossed her phone onto the seat and sped up, blinking her lights.

Maybe it was the glare from the shiny paint on Erica's sports car.

Maybe it was the ringing phone that Callie reached for.

Maybe it was anger or frustration.

Whatever caused Callie to slam against the back of Erica's car was minor all things considered.

With the grill of her SUV still attached to Erica's dainty little bumper, the chase ended. Both women applied the brakes and drifted to the side of the road. Callie was shaking when she cut the engine and it took her three tries with the door handle before she finally found it. The street was deserted when Callie stepped out of the car and she shivered as wind rushed over Elliot Bay, slicing through her. At times like these, Calliope Torres really wished that she had listened to her mother about the climate. Miami girls were not meant for winter or rain. But they were good for a game of cat and mouse.

The consequences, however, were something else altogether.

Feeling like she was heading for the gas chamber, Callie crossed her arms over her chest and took a few tentative steps forward. She drew up short when one side of Erica's bumper fell, striking the pavement like a final death knell. She was staring at it when Erica opened her car door and stepped out.

"Are you happy now?" Erica growled, hands going to her hips. "Look at what you did."

"You did it! You stopped!"

"Hello, asshole!" Gesturing behind them, Erica glared at her. "Stop sign! And you told me to pull over!"

"Well, *asshole*, I didn't think that you would do it right then!"

"OH! Let me guess! You wanted me to KIND OF pull over! You wanted me to KIND OF stop. Like you KIND OF want to be with me!"

"RIGHT NOW I DON'T EVEN KIND OF WANT TO BE WITH YOU!"

Erica took a step back, her shoulders slumping. "Well, that's the first honest thing you've said in a while."

"You're right." Callie spread her arms wide, gesturing between them. "I haven't been honest with you and I damn sure haven't been honest with myself."

"Let me guess ... you're going to start now?"

"Yeah, Erica. I'm going to start *now*."

"Well, I'm all ears."

"I'm scared. I'm terrified of this thing with you. I told you that I gave up too much of myself in my marriage, but now I don't know who I am." Callie took a step forward, shrugging. "I'm not kind of a lesbian. I'm not kind of anything except ..."

"Am I supposed to fill in the blanks? I'll take 'an asshole' for two hundred, Alex."

"GOD, YOU ARE INFURIATING!"

"THEN TELL ME! WHAT ARE YOU, CALLIE!?!"

"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU! AND THAT'S THE SECOND HONEST THING I'VE SAID IN A WHILE SO I HOPE YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION."

"You're in love with me?" Erica stopped, her voice several decibels lower than before. "You -"

"Yeah, I'm in love with you, asshole. And in case you haven't noticed my track record, I do and say stupid things when I'm in love. And for the record, I'm not 'kind of' in love with you. I'm really, really in love with you." Callie scratched the side of her head, glancing at their fused together cars. "In that ... stalk you down the road and hit your car and act like an idiot kind of way."

"You're in love with me?" Erica repeated, rolling the admission around in her head a few times. "You are ... you're crazy is what you are."

"This is where you tell me you're in love with me too. Because I know you are. You show me in everything you do. And ... well, glasses get broken. And I broke, but I'm back together. I'm ready for this. I'm ready for you."

"You're in -"

"Yes, Erica! Am I going to have to call an ambulance for you? Do you have a head injury? Say something else besides what I'm saying here!"

A wide grin spread across Erica's face, and for the first time all night, that grin made it to her eyes. They lit up and illuminated her whole face. "You're in love with me." This time she said it with conviction, as if she finally comprehended those words and enjoyed the way they felt as they rolled over her. "Speaking of glasses, I think you need some, Torres. Because you obviously can't see when you drive. Look at my car!"

"Look at me, Erica," Callie implored, reaching one hand out and tugging Erica closer. "You do love me too, don't you?"

"You make it hard sometimes. Especially tonight. I really meant it when I said that I didn't know you. You're not who I thought you were. You shocked me tonight."

"Because I defended Izzie Stevens? I wasn't. I was defending the hospital. I was defending our patients. It would be really easy for you to find another job, Erica. You're Dr. Hahn. *The* Dr. Hahn. Offers would be lining up for you. I'm still a resident and if Seattle Grace lost its teaching certification then I -"

"Shut up."

"But -"

Erica grabbed her face, cradling it between her palms. "You shocked me tonight because I never thought you were the kind of woman who would swallow her pride and admit that she's wrong."

"I haven't -"

"You're going to." With a grin, Erica leaned forward and kissed her. "As soon as I call the police, you're going to tell them how wrong it was for you to be tailgating me. And then you're going to accept the ticket they give you and I'm going to laugh my ass off."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wanna bet?"

"Can't we just put it through my insurance and call it a day? I've got great coverage."

"And let you off easy? I don't think so, princess."

"Please? I've learned a valuable lesson."

"Oh really? What, pray tell, is that?"

"To run faster so I won't have to drive?"

Erica laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you."

"If you want to fall in love me ... I'll let you."

Brushing Callie's dark hair off her forehead, Erica leaned hers against it. "What makes you think I'm not already in love with you?"

"You have failed to mention it."

Erica put her fingers under Callie's chin and lifted it, waiting for her to meet her eyes. "Then let me make it clear ... I love you. I'm in love with you and I've never been there before. Ever. So, you need to be a little more careful because I don't give *any* people the ability to hurt me ... except you. And you have. Several times. Don't do it again."

"I'm sorry. About everything that I've -"

"Callie -"

"I really wish that I -"

"Callie-"

"I know that I made a million -"

"CALLIE!"

"WHAT!? I'M TRYING TO APOLOGIZE!"

"The police are here."

Callie turned, her jaw dropping when she saw the officer approaching. "Oh god."

"It's okay." Erica reached down, threading her fingers through Callie's. "We're both to blame. I'm sorry, too."

"We are so having hot makeup sex after this," Callie groaned.

"Wrong, asshole. It's going to be a while before I let you back in my pants."

"What about the days you're wearing a skirt?" Callie smiled beautifully.

They both knew that it would be just fine.

The End

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End file.
